Monkeys in the Amazon rainforest: what lives there?
The Amazon is the richest place on Earth to look for monkeys. One survey of the Amazon biome counted 86 primate species, and every one of them is a monkey of the New World. Some weigh about as much as a bar of soap. Others are as heavy as a small dog and can be heard from far across the canopy.
This guide profiles 38 of them, one species at a time. For each monkey you get its scientific name, where in Amazonia it lives, its size, what it eats and its IUCN Red List status. The monkeys come from five families, and you can see the main differences in the table below. If you want the bigger picture of how these animals differ from monkeys in Africa and Asia, our guide to New World monkeys and Old World monkeys covers it.
The five families at a glance
Scientists group Amazon monkeys into families, and a quick look at the families makes the long list far easier to learn. The size ranges below come from the species profiled in this article.
| Family and group | Typical look | Weight range (this guide) | Species here |
|---|---|---|---|
| Callitrichidae: tamarins, marmosets, Goeldi's monkey | Tiny, clawed, often with moustaches, ruffs or ear tufts | About 110 g to 600 g | 13 |
| Cebidae: capuchins and squirrel monkeys | Quick, curious, mixed diet | About 0.5 kg to 4.8 kg | 7 |
| Pitheciidae: sakis, uakaris, titis | Shaggy sakis and uakaris, slim paired titis | About 0.7 kg to 3.7 kg | 10 |
| Atelidae: howler, spider and woolly monkeys | Big bodies and gripping tails | About 4 kg to 11 kg | 6 |
| Aotidae: night monkeys | Huge eyes, nocturnal | About 0.75 kg to 1 kg | 2 |
Thirteen plus seven plus ten plus six plus two makes 38, which is the number in the title. The weight ranges use the species with a weight in the sources we checked.
Tamarins and marmosets: the smallest monkeys
Tamarins and marmosets belong to the family Callitrichidae. They have claws instead of flat nails on most digits, which helps them cling to the canopy trunks like squirrels. They eat insects, fruit and tree sap or gum, and sometimes small vertebrates.
Their family life is unusual. Groups of about five or six live together, only one female breeds, and twins make up more than 80% of births in the species that have been studied. The whole group helps to carry the babies.
1. Black-mantled tamarin (Leontocebus nigricollis)
This saddle-back tamarin lives in the north-western Amazon, in far western Brazil, south-eastern Colombia, north-eastern Peru and eastern Ecuador. It has three subspecies, and Graells's tamarin used to be counted as a separate species. Barred forest falcons are among its predators.
Quick facts: Least Concern. A saddle-back tamarin, so expect a few hundred grams. Eats insects, fruit and gum.
2. Emperor tamarin (Saguinus imperator)
The emperor tamarin has a long white moustache that reaches beyond its shoulders. It is said to be named after the German emperor Wilhelm II. It lives in the south-western Amazon, in the Brazilian states of Acre and Amazonas, eastern Peru and northern Bolivia, in lowland and lower mountain forest as well as in secondary forest.
Quick facts: Least Concern. Head and body 23–26 cm, tail 35–41.5 cm, about 500 g. Two subspecies.
3. Golden-handed tamarin (Saguinus midas)
Also called the red-handed or Midas tamarin, this species lives north of the Amazon River, in Brazil, Guyana, French Guiana and Suriname. Its dark fur contrasts with golden-orange hands and feet. It leaps spectacularly, with jumps of more than 18 m recorded. A tamarin population south of the river that lacks the bright hands is now a separate species, the black tamarin.
Quick facts: Least Concern. Head and body 20.5–28 cm, 400–550 g. Groups of 4–15. Omnivore: fruit, flowers, nectar, plant gum, eggs, insects, spiders, frogs and lizards.
4. Golden-mantled tamarin (Leontocebus tripartitus)
A black head, a white muzzle and a ruff of bright golden fur make this saddle-back tamarin easy to spot. It lives in the lowland upper Amazon of Ecuador and Peru. Some scientists think it may be a subspecies of the brown-mantled tamarin, so its status in the family tree is still debated.
Quick facts: Near Threatened. Head and body 218–240 mm, tail 316–341 mm. Underparts are orange.
5. Moustached tamarin (Saguinus mystax)
The white hair around its mouth and nose gives this tamarin its name. It lives in lowland Amazon forest in Brazil and Peru (some sources also list Bolivia) and spends much of its time in the higher branches. About 60% of females have three-colour vision, which probably helps them pick out ripe fruit.
Quick facts: Least Concern. About 500–600 g. Eats fruit, nectar, gum, katydids, spiders, lizards and frogs. Home range about 25–50 hectares.
6. Pied tamarin (Saguinus bicolor)
The pied tamarin has a bare black face and a white upper body, and it is found only around the Brazilian city of Manaus. It became the city's mascot in 2005. As Manaus has grown, the forest around it has shrunk, and the golden-handed tamarin is gradually displacing it from part of its old range.
Quick facts: Critically Endangered. 28–32 cm, about 500 g. Groups of 2–15. Eats gums, sap, fruit, nectar, insects, spiders, small vertebrates and eggs.
7. Brown-mantled tamarin (Leontocebus fuscicollis)
Also known as Spix's saddle-back tamarin, this species lives in Brazil and Peru. It stays lower in the forest than most other monkeys and often raids the gum holes that pygmy marmosets have gouged out. Four subspecies are recognised.
Quick facts: Least Concern. Average weight 348–456 g. Groups of 4–15.
8. Western pygmy marmoset (Cebuella pygmaea)
This is the smallest monkey in the world. Males average about 110 g and females about 122 g, and the body is only about 13 cm long, with a ringed tail of about 20 cm. It lives in the north-western Amazon in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, north of the Solimões and Marañón rivers. A near-identical eastern pygmy marmoset lives to the south.
It is a gum specialist. Troops of two to nine animals (six is the most common size) feed on tree gum, and the female usually gives birth to twins twice a year.
Quick facts: Vulnerable. Threats: habitat loss and the pet trade. The old version of this article placed it in Pernambuco, which is in north-eastern Brazil and not in the Amazon.
9. Silvery marmoset (Mico argentatus)
This pale marmoset lives in the eastern Amazon of Brazil. Its fur is silvery-grey, its tail is dark and its pink ears are bare. Tree sap is its main food, but it also takes eggs, fruit, insects and small vertebrates. At night it sleeps in tree hollows. It copes well with secondary and edge forest.
Quick facts: Least Concern. 18–28 cm, 300–400 g. Pregnancy lasts about 145 days.
10. White marmoset (Mico leucippe)
Also called the golden-white bare-ear marmoset, this marmoset is found only in the Brazilian state of Pará. Pale fur is not the same thing as albinism; to see how true albino monkeys differ, read our article on albino monkeys.
Quick facts: Least Concern. Endemic to Pará, Brazil.
11. Black-headed marmoset (Mico nigriceps)
The distribution of this species is not exactly known, but it is thought to run between the Rio dos Marmelos, the Madeira River and the Ji-Paraná River in Brazil. It lives in humid rainforest, mostly second growth and forest edge. The photo used for it in the old article actually showed a white-tufted marmoset from a different genus, so it has been removed.
Quick facts: Near Threatened. Endemic to Brazil.
12. Marca's marmoset (Mico marcai)
Marca's marmoset lives in the area between the Aripuanã and Manicoré rivers in Brazil. It is light grey with orange legs, a black tail, a pinkish face and naked ears. It measures about 23 cm with a 38 cm tail and weighs about 340 g. The Manicoré marmoset was later found to be the same species.
Quick facts: Vulnerable.
13. Goeldi's monkey (Callimico goeldii)
Goeldi's monkey is the only member of its genus and is a close relative of the marmosets. It is blackish, with light striping on the back of the neck, the rump and the tail, and it usually has a single baby rather than twins. It lives in the upper Amazon of Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia and Peru, and it likes dense, scrubby undergrowth. Fungi are an important food.
Quick facts: Vulnerable. Body 20–23 cm, tail 25–30 cm, about 480–500 g. Groups of three to twelve have been seen.
Capuchins: the clever omnivores
Capuchins belong to the family Cebidae, and they split into two groups. The robust, tufted capuchins are now placed in the genus Sapajus, while the slimmer "gracile" capuchins stay in Cebus. Males of the gracile group never have a tuft on the head, but every Sapajus does.
14. Tufted capuchin (Sapajus apella)
Also called the brown capuchin, this is one of the most widespread monkeys in northern South America. It lives in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela, and in many kinds of forest from moist rainforest to dry and disturbed woodland. It has a tuft of long hair on the forehead that can be raised like a wig. The large-headed capuchin, once listed as its own species, is now counted as part of the tufted capuchin.
It is an omnivore that eats fruit and invertebrates, and sometimes lizards and bird chicks. It is active by day, lives in the trees, and often walks on the ground between trees that are too far apart to jump.
Quick facts: Least Concern. Head and body 32–57 cm, tail 38–56 cm, 1.9–4.8 kg. Groups of 8–15 are typical, led by a dominant male.
15. White-fronted capuchin (Cebus albifrons)
The name covers a group of gracile capuchins that once counted as one species. They have a light brown back and a creamy underside and live in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela and Trinidad and Tobago. Groups of 15–35 share a home range of about 1.2–1.5 km², and they are among the few primates seen making and using tools in the wild.
Quick facts: Least Concern for the species as listed, though some forms are Endangered or Critically Endangered. The old photo for this entry showed a toque macaque from Asia, which is an Old World monkey, so it was removed.
16. Ka'apor capuchin (Cebus kaapori)
This capuchin lives in the eastern edge of the Brazilian Amazon, in the states of Pará and Maranhão, including the Gurupi Biological Reserve. The region has the densest human population in the whole Amazon, so the monkey survives in isolated patches of tall lowland forest. It is one of the most endangered primates in the Neotropics.
Quick facts: Critically Endangered. An adult male weighs about 3 kg. A fruit eater. It cannot open hard nuts the way the robust Sapajus capuchins can.
Squirrel monkeys: small, fast and noisy
Squirrel monkeys have short, close fur that is black at the shoulders, with yellow or orange along the back and limbs, and a white face. The old "common squirrel monkey" has been divided into several species, so the name now means different things on different lists. Squirrel monkeys can only sweat through the palms of their hands and feet.
17. Guianan squirrel monkey (Saimiri sciureus)
This is the true Saimiri sciureus, once called the common squirrel monkey. After genetic studies in 2009 and 2015, its range shrank to northern Brazil and the Guianas. The old article said it lived "throughout the Amazon basin", which is no longer correct.
Quick facts: Least Concern. Males measure 25–37 cm with a 36–40 cm tail and weigh 550–1,400 g.
18. Humboldt's squirrel monkey (Saimiri cassiquiarensis)
Humboldt's squirrel monkey was raised to a full species after a 2009 genetic study. It lives in Brazil, Colombia and Venezuela, and the fur at the base of its crown is golden yellow, where the Guianan species is grey. It is named after the Prussian explorer Alexander von Humboldt.
Quick facts: Least Concern. Body 25–37 cm, tail 36–45 cm. Eats fruit, mostly between January and June, plus insects.
19. Bare-eared squirrel monkey (Saimiri ustus)
Also known as the golden-backed squirrel monkey, this species is found in Brazil and possibly in eastern Bolivia.
Quick facts: Near Threatened. The old article put it in the Guianas, which is wrong.
20. Black squirrel monkey (Saimiri vanzolinii)
This monkey has one of the smallest ranges of any primate. It lives in seasonally flooded várzea forest where the Japurá and Solimões rivers meet, and its whole range lies inside the Mamirauá Sustainable Development Reserve. It is named for the black stripe that runs from its head to the tip of its tail, and it travels in large troops. You can read how such flooding shapes life in the environmental factors of rainforests.
Quick facts: Endangered. Body 27–32 cm. Males weigh 0.64–1.22 kg. The photo in the old article showed a Central American-type squirrel monkey, so it was replaced.
Sakis and uakaris: shaggy faces and seed-crackers
Sakis and uakaris belong to the family Pitheciidae, and many of them have jaws and teeth built for seeds. Titi monkeys are in the same family and have their own section later in this guide.
21. White-faced saki (Pithecia pithecia)
This saki lives in Brazil, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname and Venezuela. It eats fruit, nuts, seeds and insects, is active by day, and sleeps high in leafy trees, 15–20 m above the ground, to shelter from weather and flying predators. Groups are small, usually two to twelve animals and often just a pair with their young. Individuals have lived up to 36 years in captivity.
Quick facts: Least Concern. Males average about 1.73 kg and females about 1.52 kg.
22. Monk saki (Pithecia monachus)
Several look-alike sakis that were once lumped with the monk saki were split off in 2014, so it now has a smaller range: the area between the Solimões, the lower and middle Ucayali and the lower Javary, in north-western Brazil and north-eastern Peru. It is shy and wary, lives high in the trees and eats fruit, berries, honey, leaves, small mammals and birds.
Quick facts: Least Concern. 30–50 cm long with a bushy tail of 25–55 cm. Weighs 1–2 kg.
23. Red-nosed bearded saki (Chiropotes albinasus)
Also called the white-nosed saki, because the pink skin of its nose fades to whitish in museum specimens. It lives in the terra firme forest of the south-central Amazon in Brazil. Males are black, females brown to brownish-grey, and it is the only bearded saki with a brightly coloured nose. It eats mostly immature seeds, plus fruit, flowers, bark, insects and leaves, and it gathers in large groups.
Quick facts: Vulnerable, with a decreasing population (2020 assessment).
24. Red bald uakari (Cacajao rubicundus)
Uakaris are famous for their scarlet faces. The colour comes from a lack of skin pigment and plenty of blood vessels close to the surface. They have long shaggy coats, bald heads and short tails of only about 15 cm. The red bald uakari lives in Brazil, and bald uakaris in general live in flooded várzea forest in the western Amazon. Their lower jaws can open the hard cases of unripe fruit that other primates cannot manage.
In one study, the diet of a bald uakari was 67% seeds, 18% fruit, 6% flowers and 5% animal prey. Groups number 5–30 (bald uakaris), and sometimes up to 100. A bald uakari weighs 2.75–3.45 kg.
Quick facts: Least Concern for this species in the Mammal Diversity Database, though the Ucayali bald uakari is Vulnerable, and older assessments rated all bald uakaris as one Vulnerable species.
25. Golden-backed uakari (Cacajao melanocephalus)
Also known as the black-headed uakari, it has black fur on the head, a bare black face, black hands and feet, and reddish flanks and tail. It lives in Brazil, Colombia and Venezuela. Specialised teeth let it crack hard-cased fruit and seeds, and it also eats leaves, insects, wasp larvae and even river turtle eggs. Groups usually have 5–40 members, but more than 100 sometimes gather.
Quick facts: Least Concern. Weighs 2.5–3.7 kg. Active by day.
Flip cards: guess the monkey
Read each clue, decide which monkey fits, then tap the card to check.
Titi monkeys: pairs that sing together
Titis live in family groups of two to seven animals, usually a pair and their young, and they are often seen sitting side by side with their tails entwined. They eat mostly fruit, plus leaves, flowers, insects, bird eggs and small vertebrates. They make loud, elaborate duets that carry far through the forest.
Titi classification was reorganised in 2016. Most Amazonian titis are now in the genus Plecturocebus, the dark "widow" titis such as the collared titi are in Cheracebus, and the name Callicebus is kept for the titis of the Atlantic Forest. Older lists, including the original version of this article, still use Callicebus for all of them.
26. Coppery titi (Plecturocebus cupreus)
The coppery titi, or red titi, lives in the Amazon of Brazil and Peru and perhaps northern Bolivia, mainly in lowland forest that floods in the wet season. It can also be found in young forest, swamp edges and bamboo thickets. About three-quarters of its feeding time goes on fruit, and females eat nearly twice as many insects while they are nursing, probably to get extra protein. Pairs are monogamous, and in some places local people call it a "zog-zog".
Quick facts: Least Concern. Can live a little over 20 years.
27. Red-bellied titi (Plecturocebus moloch)
Also called the dusky titi, this monkey is found only in Brazil. It often sits hunched with its limbs held close and its tail hanging down. It does not move far, and it feeds on fruit, insects, spiders, small birds and birds' eggs.
Quick facts: Least Concern. Body 28–39 cm, tail 33–49 cm. Males weigh 850–1,200 g and females 700–1,020 g.
28. Prince Bernhard's titi (Plecturocebus bernhardi)
Described in 2002 and named after Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands, this titi lives only in Brazil, mostly in disturbed forest. It eats palm fruits and the leaves and fruit of Inga trees, and the pairs in an area often begin to duet together before dawn. The old article placed it in Peru, but it is found only in Brazil.
Quick facts: Least Concern, though deforestation may put it at risk in future.
29. Rio Mayo titi (Plecturocebus oenanthe)
Formerly known as the San Martín titi, it lives only in Peru, in the Alto Mayo, Bajo Mayo and central Huallaga areas. Forest clearance for farming has squeezed it into small patches, and it was listed among the world's 25 most endangered primates in October 2012. In one study its diet was 54% fruit and 22% insects, with the rest leaves, tendrils, buds, flowers and seeds.
Quick facts: Critically Endangered.
30. Collared titi (Cheracebus torquatus)
This dark titi lives in northern Brazil and has a band of white hair that runs up from the chest, around the neck and towards the ears. Local people hunt and eat it, and it often lives close to indigenous settlements where there is plenty of other forest meat.
Quick facts: Least Concern. Five adults averaged 1,462 g, with a head and body of 290–390 mm and a tail of 350–400 mm.
Howler monkeys: the Amazon's loudest voices
Howlers are the most widespread monkeys in the Neotropics and are among the largest New World monkeys. They are mainly leaf-eaters with a strong grasping tail that can support their whole body weight. An enlarged throat bone helps produce the roars that give them their name, and the calls help groups avoid fights.
31. Colombian red howler (Alouatta seniculus)
This deep reddish-brown monkey lives in the western Amazon in Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Brazil. Populations in Bolivia and in north-eastern South America have been given separate species names. Groups have three to nine animals, with only one or two males. Leaves are the most important part of the diet, with nuts, fruit, seeds, flowers and small animals as extras. Leaves give little energy, so saving energy matters, and the groups are most active in the morning, when they move to a new feeding spot.
Quick facts: Least Concern. Males weigh 5.4–9 kg and females 4.2–7 kg. The prehensile tail is 49–75 cm long.
32. Red-handed howler (Alouatta belzebul)
Most adults are black with reddish-brown hands, feet and tail tips, but colour varies a lot, and some are completely black or reddish. It lives in Brazil, in the south-eastern Amazon and in some patches of the Atlantic Forest. It is a good example of how fur colour alone is a poor guide when you identify a monkey.
Quick facts: Vulnerable. Adult males weigh about 7–9 kg.
Spider and woolly monkeys: big bodies, gripping tails
Spider monkeys have very long limbs and tails and almost no thumb, which suits swinging through the canopy. The tail can grip like a fifth hand. They live in a "fission-fusion" society, where a large group splits into small travelling parties that change several times a day.
33. White-bellied spider monkey (Ateles belzebuth)
It lives in the north-western Amazon in Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Peru and Brazil, and it has a whitish belly and a pale forehead patch. It is a major long-distance seed disperser for plants such as the Oenocarpus bataua palm, which links the monkeys directly to the health of the forest. A group of 20–40 splits into parties of one to nine, and loud calls can carry up to a kilometre to bring the parties together.
Quick facts: Endangered. The population fell by about 50% over three generations (45 years) because of habitat loss and hunting.
34. Peruvian spider monkey (Ateles chamek)
The black-faced black spider monkey lives in Peru, Brazil and Bolivia. It prefers fleshy fruit but changes its diet when fruit is scarce, taking leaves, insects and small animals. Groups of 20–30 are rarely all together at the same time.
Quick facts: Endangered. Up to about 9 kg, with a 70 cm body and a tail up to 1 m. Lives about 20 years.
35. Red-faced spider monkey (Ateles paniscus)
The Guiana spider monkey lives in the rainforests of northern South America, in the Guianas and northern Brazil. It has long black hair and a red or pink face. At night it may sleep in groups of up to 30, and in daytime it travels in parties. It eats termites and grubs as well as supple leaves, flowers, mature seeds, roots, fungi, berries and fruit.
Quick facts: Vulnerable. Males average about 9.1 kg and 55.7 cm in head-and-body length.
36. Common woolly monkey (Lagothrix lagothricha)
Woolly monkeys are big, thick-furred monkeys with a strong tail. This species lives in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil and Venezuela in groups of anything from two to 70 animals, which usually split into smaller parties while active. The "gray woolly monkey" listed as Lagothrix cana in older lists is now treated as a subspecies of this species. Fruit with one or two large seeds forms most of the diet, and juveniles eat more arthropods than adults.
Quick facts: Vulnerable. Head and body 40–60 cm, tail 55–75 cm, weight 5.5–10.8 kg. Covers about 2 km a day.
Night monkeys: the only monkeys that work the night shift
Night monkeys, also called owl monkeys, are the only truly nocturnal monkeys. They are the sole living members of the family Aotidae, with very large eyes that help them see after dark. They live in small family groups of a mated pair and their young, and the father usually carries the baby. Most other monkeys are active by day, so night monkeys avoid much of the competition. For a very different forest animal, see our article on the anaconda in the rainforest.
37. Spix's night monkey (Aotus vociferans)
Also called the noisy night monkey, it lives in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. Groups of a breeding pair and their offspring are typical, and the father becomes the main carer once a baby is born. The young usually stay with the group until they are two and a half to three and a half years old.
Quick facts: Least Concern. Weighs about 1 kg.
38. Black-headed night monkey (Aotus nigriceps)
This night monkey lives in Brazil, Bolivia and Peru, and in Peru it has been recorded in degraded, disturbed areas. Three black stripes meet on its forehead, and white patches mark its eyes, cheeks and chin. It eats leaves, flowers, moths, beetles and spiders. Neighbouring pairs fight over territory, and the winner keeps the territory and sometimes the loser's infants.
Quick facts: Least Concern. Adults weigh about 750 g. One infant a year.
Reveal questions: check your understanding
Why are most saddle-back tamarins now in Leontocebus and not Saguinus? (2 marks)
Genetic data led scientists to split them from Saguinus. Genetic studies showed that they form a separate lineage from the other Saguinus tamarins.
Explain why the Rio Mayo titi is Critically Endangered. (2 marks)
Its forest is being cleared for farming, which leaves it only small patches of habitat, and it has restricted living space in Peru.
What does "fission-fusion" mean in spider monkeys? (2 marks)
A large group (for example 20–40 white-bellied spider monkeys) splits into small parties that travel, feed and sleep together, and the makeup of the parties changes, sometimes several times a day.
Give two ways that a pygmy marmoset differs from a howler monkey. (2 marks)
A pygmy marmoset weighs about 110–122 g and feeds mainly on tree gum. A red howler monkey weighs 4.2–9 kg and eats mainly leaves.
Comparing Amazon monkeys: size and conservation status
Once you have met all 38, tables help you compare them. The first ranks the species for which we have a verified weight, from smallest to largest. Weights are typical adult figures or ranges, and some are averages for one sex.
| Monkey | Typical weight | Family |
|---|---|---|
| Western pygmy marmoset | 110–122 g | Callitrichidae |
| Marca's marmoset | About 340 g | Callitrichidae |
| Brown-mantled tamarin | 348–456 g | Callitrichidae |
| Golden-handed tamarin | 400–550 g | Callitrichidae |
| Emperor tamarin and pied tamarin | About 500 g | Callitrichidae |
| Red-bellied titi | 700–1,200 g | Pitheciidae |
| Black-headed night monkey | About 750 g | Aotidae |
| Monk saki | 1–2 kg | Pitheciidae |
| Tufted capuchin | 1.9–4.8 kg | Cebidae |
| Golden-backed uakari | 2.5–3.7 kg | Pitheciidae |
| Colombian red howler | 4.2–9 kg | Atelidae |
| Common woolly monkey | 5.5–10.8 kg | Atelidae |
The second table sorts all 38 species by IUCN Red List category, using the status reported for each one by the IUCN-linked sources we checked. Sixteen of the 38 are in a threatened or near-threatened category.
| IUCN status | Species in this guide | Count |
|---|---|---|
| Critically Endangered | Pied tamarin, Ka'apor capuchin, Rio Mayo titi | 3 |
| Endangered | Black squirrel monkey, white-bellied spider monkey, Peruvian spider monkey | 3 |
| Vulnerable | Western pygmy marmoset, Marca's marmoset, Goeldi's monkey, red-nosed bearded saki, red-handed howler, red-faced spider monkey, common woolly monkey | 7 |
| Near Threatened | Golden-mantled tamarin, black-headed marmoset, bare-eared squirrel monkey | 3 |
| Least Concern | The other 22 species | 22 |
Spotter checklist: how to tell Amazon monkeys apart
Many Amazon monkeys look alike, and the old version of this article mixed up several of them. Use this checklist as a quick field guide, and tick each clue as you learn it. Your ticks are saved in your browser.
- Tiny, with claws and a long tail, under about 600 g? Think tamarin or marmoset.
- Long white moustache past the shoulders? Emperor tamarin.
- Black body with bright golden-orange hands? Golden-handed tamarin.
- Bare black face and white front, near Manaus? Pied tamarin.
- Scarlet bare face, long shaggy coat and a stubby tail? Uakari.
- Pink nose on an all-black bearded monkey? Red-nosed bearded saki.
- Black cap, pale face, forehead tuft and a mixed diet? Capuchin.
- Black shoulders, yellow-orange back and a white face mask? Squirrel monkey.
- Pairs sitting with their tails entwined and duetting at dawn? Titi monkey.
- Large body, grasping tail and a roar? Howler monkey.
- Very long limbs, almost no thumb and a tail that grips? Spider monkey.
- Thick woolly fur and a heavy build? Woolly monkey.
- Huge brown eyes and activity after dark? Night monkey.
What went wrong in the old list?
Checking every monkey in the original article turned up several errors, and fixing them is a good lesson in how science corrects itself. Several species that had been included do not live in the Amazon at all. The cotton-top tamarin and the white-footed tamarin are Colombian species from outside the Amazon, and Geoffroy's spider monkey is a Central American species. Others do not belong either: the brown howler is an Atlantic Forest species, and the Margarita Island capuchin comes from a Venezuelan island.
Some details were simply wrong. The pygmy marmoset was placed in Pernambuco, the Prince Bernhard's titi in Peru, and one "white-fronted capuchin" photograph appeared to show an Asian macaque. A few photographs showed the wrong animal, such as a white-tufted marmoset standing in for a black-headed marmoset. All of these have been corrected or removed. If you read about monkeys elsewhere and the facts disagree with this guide, check the date of the source and the scientific name.
Why Amazon monkeys are under threat
The main threats are the same ones that affect most of the Amazon's wildlife. The pied tamarin is squeezed by the growth of Manaus. The white-bellied spider monkey and the common woolly monkey have been hunted and have lost habitat. The Rio Mayo titi has lost forest to farming, and the Ka'apor capuchin survives in small isolated patches in the most heavily populated part of the Amazon. For the wider picture, read about deforestation, afforestation and reforestation and about the extinction crisis.
Monkeys also matter to the forest. Spider monkeys and howler monkeys disperse seeds, and the way each species uses a different layer of the forest or a different food is a great example of adaptations in plants and animals. Protecting them is a matter for conservation in biology, and it protects a huge amount of jungle biodiversity at the same time.
Frequently asked questions about monkeys in the Amazon rainforest
How many species of monkey live in the Amazon rainforest?
A 2009 count in the Brazilian Journal of Biology found 86 primate species in the Amazon biome, and all of them are New World monkeys. The number changes as scientists split or merge species. This guide profiles 38 of them, with their scientific names, ranges, sizes, diets and conservation status.
What is the smallest monkey in the Amazon rainforest?
The western pygmy marmoset is the smallest monkey in the world. Males average about 110 g, females about 122 g, and the body is about 13 cm long with a ringed tail of about 20 cm. It lives in the north-western Amazon, feeds on tree gum and is listed as Vulnerable.
What is the biggest monkey in the Amazon?
Among the monkeys in this guide, the common woolly monkey is the heaviest, at up to 10.8 kg. Male red-faced spider monkeys average about 9.1 kg, Peruvian spider monkeys reach about 9 kg, and Colombian red howler males weigh up to about 9 kg.
Which Amazon monkeys are endangered?
Of the 38 species here, the pied tamarin, Ka'apor capuchin and Rio Mayo titi are Critically Endangered. The black squirrel monkey and two spider monkeys are Endangered, and seven more are Vulnerable. Habitat loss, hunting and the pet trade are the main reasons.
What do Amazon monkeys eat?
It depends on the species. Tamarins and marmosets eat fruit, insects and tree gum. Capuchins are omnivores, and uakaris and sakis eat many seeds. Howler monkeys mainly eat leaves, spider and woolly monkeys eat mostly fruit, and night monkeys eat leaves, flowers and insects such as moths and beetles.
Which monkey has a red face?
Uakaris have scarlet bare faces, caused by a lack of skin pigment and many blood vessels near the surface. Red-faced spider monkeys also have a red or pink face, though they are black-haired. The red bald uakari lives in Brazil and has a short tail of about 15 cm.
Are there any nocturnal monkeys in the Amazon?
Yes. Night monkeys, in the genus Aotus, are the only truly nocturnal monkeys. They have large brown eyes and live in small family groups, and the father is usually the main carer. This guide covers Spix's night monkey and the black-headed night monkey.
Which Amazon monkeys live in groups and which in pairs?
Group size varies. Tamarins live in groups of about 4–15, capuchins in groups of about 8–35, and spider monkeys in groups of 20–40 that split into small parties. Titis and some sakis live in pairs or small family groups, and night monkeys live as a pair with their young.
Why do some monkeys have different names in different books?
Classification keeps changing as genetic studies show how species are related. Saddle-back tamarins moved to Leontocebus, many titis to Plecturocebus, and the common squirrel monkey was split into several species. When two lists disagree, check the date and the scientific name.
What is the difference between New World and Old World monkeys?
All Amazon monkeys are New World monkeys, from the Americas. Many have prehensile tails, as spider and howler monkeys do, which Old World monkeys do not. Old World monkeys live in Africa and Asia. Our guide to New World monkeys and Old World monkeys sets out the full comparison.
